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K-12 Education: Lessons Learned from Implementing COVID-19 Relief Funding Provisions Could Improve Future Grant Monitoring
GAO-26-107727
Feb 27, 2026
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should develop internal written procedures to use when engaging in technical assistance to ensure staff have a common understanding of the information program managers provide to grantees when overseeing grants. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should establish procedures to ensure the quality and reliability of data collected for grants oversight and technical assistance. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should develop a way to ensure that, as appropriate, staff timely identify, document, and share any lessons learned from implementing new and ongoing initiatives that may inform future grants oversight. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Department of Education: Full Costs and Savings Estimate Needed for Reduction-in-Force and Restructuring of the Office for Civil Rights
GAO-26-108320
Feb 02, 2026
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should estimate the full costs and savings associated with the Reduction-in-Force and reorganization actions it initiated in March 2025 and document its analysis. (Recommendation 1)
Open
The Department of Education disagreed with this recommendation. Education stated that it had rescinded the RIFs for OCR staff and taken action to return those employees to active duty, rendering the matter moot. Our report found that Education did not meet the requirement to document any potential savings or costs associated with any planned RIFs and other reductions in the workforce prior to their implementation. We also noted that 299 OCR staff initially subject to the March 2025 RIF actions were placed on administrative leave, some of whom remained on administrative leave until December 2025. Although Education has now rescinded the RIF actions, the agency incurred costs, for example, paying salaries and benefits for these staff. Given the RIFs were rescinded, thereby establishing a discrete time period, this recommendation reflects that such an analysis would be of actual, rather than potential, costs and savings. Additionally, in December 2025 while Education's RIF actions were paused, Education officials said that it remained committed to the RIF and would work to officially separate these staff in the future. Having a full, documented estimate of the costs and savings associated with a RIF, such as what occurred from March 2025 through early January 2026, would better inform any future actions Education may take in this regard. Therefore, we continue to believe that Education should conduct and document such an analysis.

Older Workers: Department of Labor Should Help State and Local Partners Share Promising Practices
GAO-26-107439
Jan 29, 2026
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Labor The Secretary of Labor should ensure that the Employment and Training Administration, in coordination with Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration, facilitates information sharing among state and local partners on promising practices both to address the employment needs of older workers and to increase their awareness of job center services. (Recommendation 1)
Open
DOL agreed with this recommendation. DOL stated that it would enhance its coordination with Education to identify and share promising practices to address the employment needs of older workers and increase their awareness of job center services. We will monitor the progress of these efforts.

Nuclear Enterprise: Clearer Guidance Could Improve Joint Professional Military Education Nuclear Deterrence Curriculum
GAO-25-107416
Sep 18, 2025
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff updates the guidance on enduring and periodic special areas of emphasis to explicitly define nuclear deterrence to aid all intermediate- and senior-level JPME programs' development of JPME curricula with nuclear deterrence content. (Recommendation 1)
Open
DOD partially concurred with this recommendation. DOD concurred that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should update the JPME guidance for enduring special areas of emphasis to define nuclear deterrence. However, DOD did not concur with the aspect of this recommendation related to updating the JPME guidance for periodic special areas of emphasis, noting that periodic special areas of emphasis are subject to a 2-year time-frame restriction. We continue to believe that the recommendation to update the JPME guidance for periodic special areas of emphasis is valid, because this will allow JPME programs to more effectively develop curricula to meet requirements if additional nuclear deterrence-related periodic special areas of emphasis are identified in the future. We will monitor DOD's efforts to fully address this recommendation.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff updates the guidance on enduring and periodic special areas of emphasis to require all intermediate- and senior-level JPME programs to incorporate the definition of nuclear deterrence into relevant JPME curricula. (Recommendation 2)
Open
DOD partially concurred with this recommendation. DOD concurred that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should require all intermediate- and senior-level JPME programs to incorporate the definition of nuclear deterrence into relevant JPME curricula for enduring special areas of emphasis. However, DOD did not concur with the aspect of this recommendation related to updating the JPME guidance for periodic special areas of emphasis, noting that periodic special areas of emphasis are subject to a 2-year time-frame restriction. We continue to believe that the recommendation to update the JPME guidance to incorporate the definition of nuclear deterrence for periodic special areas of emphasis is valid, because this will allow JPME programs to more effectively develop curricula to meet requirements if additional nuclear deterrence-related periodic special areas of emphasis are identified in the future. We will monitor DOD's efforts to fully address this recommendation.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff sets a specific time frame for implementation—including for conditional and full certification—of the outcomes-based military education system by all intermediate- and senior-level JPME programs. (Recommendation 3)
Open
DOD partially concurred with this recommendation. DOD concurred that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should set a specific time frame for implementation of the outcomes-based military education system. However, DOD did not concur with the aspect of the recommendation related to a connection between setting a specific implementation time frame for the certification of JPME programs and nuclear deterrence learning outcomes. We recognize that DOD is taking actions to update JPME guidance to set a time frame for certification of all intermediate- and senior-level JPME programs, and when we confirm what actions DOD has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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